


Juno Steel and the Masquerade Ball

by CandyBooks



Category: The Penumbra Podcast
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-22
Updated: 2019-02-22
Packaged: 2019-11-03 23:44:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,075
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17887388
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CandyBooks/pseuds/CandyBooks
Summary: Juno Steel prides himself for being a watchful eye, pun intended. But when Vicky Valles approaches him for a new case at a masquerade ball, can he stay vigilant? Even if the dancing reminds him of less than pleasant things? Even if a certain thief without a name shows up? Find out at our next stop: Juno Steel and the Masquerade Ball.





	Juno Steel and the Masquerade Ball

Juno had heard about the job one day when Sasha called him. The thing was that the job wasn’t even a Dark Matters job; she’d called just to tell him to keep an eye out for that man who had called himself Rex Glass back a while ago. Juno didn’t feel like telling her that Peter Nureyev might as well have moved in with him so he didn’t. Juno was ready to turn down the job but then -of course - Rita had been listening in. Then Sasha mentioned the job was playing guard of some valuable things while a masquerade ball was being held. Once Sasha hung up, Rita - with her damn streams and her brilliant mind - burst into Juno’s office.

“We’re taking the job, right, Boss?” Rita asked. Juno knew fighting with her over it was hopeless. He knew that the chances of telling Rita no would be impossible.

“No.” But he tried anyways.

“But Mistah Steel!” Rita whined, “You already accepted the Vicky Valles job and this is the same job! Plus, this is the nicest job you’ve been asked to do in a while.”

“Yeah, Rita, I know. It’s too nice.”

It was true. Juno still thought the job was too nice to be true. He had to keep an eye on some fancy paintings and jewelry for a couple of hours and then he’d be paid for keeping them safe. Vicky said that even if something got stolen, as long as it got returned to her, he’d be getting paid. Juno wasn’t sure how much he trusted that and he had no debt to Vicky so he was free to turn down the job. But the woman had _still_ invited him to the party.

“But Mistah Steel!”

Juno focused his eyes on Rita after that.

"Yes, Rita?” He had a feeling that she would be pulling up something from their past to force his hand.

“It’s your chance to see that Rex Glass again! Plus, didn’t you say I’d get to pick which cases we work?”

Oh, right. He had done that. He’d done it mostly as a mistake, saying yes to Rita while she was rambling about one of the streams she’d been watching. But a part of him had been serious about it. Rita had helped him out enough in the past that he could let her pick one case for them to work on.

But did it have to be _this_ one?

“Fine. Fine! We’ll take the job.”

Juno really wished he had said no. But Rita was stubborn; Juno had the feeling she just really wanted a night out and a Masquerade Ball seemed like fun. Juno had been planning on wearing a simple tux; he needed the pockets and a dress was not that easy to move around in. Especially so if the dresses were meant to be anything like what he had seen from Rita’s streams but the girl was relentless.

Juno was dragged into dress shopping with Rita. Not that Rita actually tried anything on, she insisted that Juno try on every dress that even seemed to fit his style and aesthetic.

Juno spent the first hour trying to go towards the suits section. He needed something with pockets, not that Rita seemed to care. Eventually, he gave in and let Rita drag him around shops to find a dress. Rita tried to get Juno into an orange high low dress but it was far too puffy to bother with. It took giving Rita a solid “no” four times before she finally let him put the dress back into its spot. Eventually, Rita managed to find an orangey red high low dress that looked like something ancient greeks back on earth might’ve worn. The dress was easy to move around in, not tight, not puffy, and also short enough in the front that he didn’t have to worry about stepping on the dress.

Rita, of course, refused to share her outfit with him until the day of the party, but the problem was that Juno was there while Rita was not.

Vicky greeted him just like every other guest, handing him a mask. She pointed at his table and Juno sighed as he sat down at the table.

Juno was sitting and keeping a watchful eye on everyone that came and went from the dance floor and everyone that was going near the valuable when Rita finally came up to him. Juno kept a vague eye out for Rita and was unsurprised when he saw her slowly peel herself out of the crowd of dancing figures.

“What’re you doing looking so gloomy over here for, Boss?”

“We have a job to do, remember?”

“Yeah yeah, boss. When you wanna dance, come and join me.” Rita slipped her mask back on and walked away and Juno couldn’t help but want to laugh at just how _Rita_ her entire outfit was. An atrocity of a dress that Rita just managed to work. It was _massive_ : there were so _many_ layers and the dress was so goddamn pink. Each layer touched down to the floor and Juno knew Rita would be wearing heels as well. The mask on her face had a metallic pink background and tons of thin black swirls going from the eyes to the nose. The designs of the mask and the mask itself were outlined in pink and gold glitter. The mask had been fitted to Rita’s face, allowing her to move around without having to worry about holding the mask up or having a string get stuck in her hair. Juno shook his head as she walked away.

How Rita managed to dance in that mess of a thing and still made it work was beyond him. How Vicky managed to have a mask that matched Rita’s outfit so perfectly was beyond him. Both were very impressive, not the Juno would dare speak the words to either of the girls.

Juno sighed and with a shake of his head looked down at his mask. The mask was split in two different colors: the left half had a white background with gold and red swirls around the eye, the right half had a black background with gold and purple and blue swirls on them. That same side had colorful peacock feathers attached to the corner. Juno could already tell the mask was too loud for his taste. There was too much on the mask that was already so distracting, although it had been made to cover the missing eye and the feathers were on the right side of the mask the feathers were far too large to stay completely out of his good eye.  
Juno looked at the mask and shook his head. Vicky had certainly tried to make the mask practical. It fit to his face so he wouldn’t have to keep readjusting it or worry about it falling off of his face but it wasn’t worth it.

Anyways, Juno knew the chances of him getting into some kind of trouble and breaking the mask was far too high. Juno could barely afford most of his basics; he wasn’t about to wreck something that looked like it cost a whole ton of creds to make. Giving the mask one more look, Juno set his mask on the table and looked back up at the people dancing.

Studying the mask might not have been a good idea. But then again, Juno would never be able to keep his eyes— eye on everything at once. He couldn’t blame himself if he missed something. He would, regardless. There was absolutely no stopping that, but Rita was planning on keeping an eye on things and despite all of her quirks the girl was practically a genius. She’d notice if something happened. Hopefully.

With a small shake of his head, Juno turned his attention back to the crowd before him. He spent a solid hour or so keeping an eye on everyone before his stomach protested at the fact that he hadn’t eaten anything since the morning. Juno was prepared to stick it out a little bit longer; he’d _just_ managed to find a comfortable position and he’d gone longer. But there was a voice in the back of his mind that sounded vaguely like Peter and Rita telling him to take care of himself.  
Juno almost regretted introducing Rita to Peter. Almost. The two of them had become fast friends, from ganging up on Juno to tell him to take care of himself to sharing fashion and makeup and self care tips. Juno was _mortified_ to find out how similar Peter’s wardrobe is to Rita’s. Juno held it against Peter that morning before he’d given up. Neither of them let him live it down but it was so hard to be mortified by Peter’s wardrobe when he still managed to look hot as hell in every outfit he wore. It was ever harder when Peter had shown up later that day in an outfit that showed off quite a lot of skin. Despite the terrifying revelation - and the fact that he now had two people to force him into taking care of himself - he also loved their friendship. Rita was Juno’s best friend, though he would never tell her that. The fact that she and Peter got on so well had put him at ease.

Juno stopped thinking about Peter and Rita when his stomach growled again. With a groan, he pulled himself out of his chair and made his way to the table that had all the food.

The food was all the way on the other side of the room so it meant he was closer to the door and further from the things he was supposed to keep an eye on but it was fine. He had a better view of it from the table so things would be fine. Hopefully. Famous last words, right?  
Once Juno ate as much as he needed to quell his grumbling stomach he made his way back to his seat. Or, at least, he tried to. Halfway to his seat and Juno swore he saw a man who was just elegant enough to be the man he was living with. But that couldn’t be possible, right? Peter was supposed to be out for at least another month. Then again, Peter didn’t know how to stay away and of course the man would be here. Maybe. Juno wasn’t even sure if he’d seen Peter; his peripheral vision wasn’t exactly what it used to be.

 _This is a job, Steel, can’t let yourself get distracted._ Juno tried to use the thought to focus himself and it worked for a little bit. He managed to get himself back to his table, but the moment he turned his eyes back on the crowd he had a new motive on keeping an eye on everyone.  
Juno and Peter had worked on two sides of the same case before. As much as Juno enjoyed the challenge, every loss irked him. It wasn’t that he was underestimating Peter, he was just that good.

Juno kept an eye on the crowd and the goods. Everything was going as smoothly as watching people dance and keeping an eye on everyone that split away from the dancing group with only one eye could go. Everything was fine and Juno had managed to push any thought of Peter to the back of his mind.

But then, of course, the _moment_ Juno had stopped thinking about Nureyev, who else would show up at the door than the one and only? Juno could, of course, have been wrong about seeing Peter but he knew the man quite well and even if he was wearing a mask and had his back turned towards him, Juno could tell.

For a few moments Juno just spent the time to look at Peter. He would have recognized the man just from his posture, just from the way he carried himself, from the way every move Peter made looked poised and precise and planned. Juno knew for sure when he saw Peter produce something from a pocket somewhere even though Peter was wearing a goddamn dress. Juno was even more sure when Peter turned and his eyes managed to land on Juno and the other man smiled, sharp teeth shining stark white against black lips.

Juno shook his head and turned his gaze back to the rest of the party. He needed a game plan. Keeping an eye on everyone in the crowd was difficult as it was, but now he had Peter to keep an eye on, too. “Great,” Juno mumbled with a small shake of his head.  
This was a job and he was not going to get distracted by feelings and Peter in that _goddamn_ dress that—

Nope. He was not doing that.

The problem was that Juno couldn’t _not_ keep an eye on Peter. Peter was slippery and Juno could figure him out relatively well, but Juno still didn’t know every trick up Peter’s sleeve. That meant keeping an eye on Peter just like he kept an eye on everyone else, but that also meant that Juno would get distracted.

For a while, though, Juno managed to survive the night. Peter danced with Rita every once in a while and he kept mingling with the other party goers. His persona was always so outgoing, so easy to talk to. Juno wondered what persona Peter donned for the night. The chances of Vicky actually knowing Peter was incredibly unlikely but Juno was almost certain Peter wouldn’t repeat a persona unless he had no other choice.

A part of Juno wished he could put Peter in an environment where everyone knew one of his faces but not the other. The other part of Juno wouldn’t risk doing that. Not that he didn’t think Peter could get out. He was a master of disappearances; hell, Peter could probably smooth talk his way out of the situation. That was something Juno would pay good money to see. But also, any risk of Peter getting arrested was not worth it.

With a soft groan, Juno shook his head. He filed the thought away. He might as well ask Peter about it later, but for now he had to pay attention to his job.  
That got harder when a song that Juno knew far too well started to play. He wasn’t surprised but Juno did not want to spend time considering the memory. Juno kept an eye on the crowd and let his eye drift around the room, studying the white walls and massive windows as the music continued to blast. Juno spent a solid minute studying a white wall with golden swirls and circles around a massive mirror before he realized that Rita had come up to him.

“Mistah Steel?” Rita asked and Juno groaned, the first time he’d told Rita about Benten had been because he was drunk and Rita was worried about him. The fact that Juno didn’t ignore the fact that he’d told her was the first sign of their friendship. Rita had been sympathetic the next morning but Juno knew she’d been pretty happy about it. Juno didn’t open up much about his past; hell, Peter knew about as much about his past as Rita did.

“Yes, Rita?” Juno asked as he looked at her, her hair was slowly falling out of its braid and her cheeks were flushed pink from dancing.  
“Do you want to dance?” she asked and Juno stared at her for a moment. He couldn’t figure out if Rita knew what she was doing or not. One look at her face, though, showed that she knew exactly what she was doing and of course she did. There was no way Rita would be able to keep track of all her streams if she couldn’t remember each and every one of them.

“Yeah, alright. But I have no idea what I’m doing, so I sure hope you do.”

Rita beamed up at him and Juno rolled his eyes before he was dragged to the dance floor.

Juno let Rita lead. He didn’t know what he was doing and he’d never been the lead even while Benten taught him how to dance. They danced quietly but Rita was smiling and Juno was glad to keep his mind off of things. Dancing didn’t mean he didn’t think about Benten though.

All dancing was doing was bringing up stronger memories of Benten. The thing about his brother was that the moment he found out Juno couldn’t dance he hadn’t stood for it. He cleared up space in the living room and started playing some music, forcing Juno to learn. The process had taken forever and by the end of it, Juno felt like destroying the box that kept playing the same song on repeat. A couple of days later, when Benten wanted to see how much Juno remembered, it was nice to dance. They’d swirled around the living room and even though Juno wasn’t nearly as graceful as Benten was, he managed to dance without stepping on either of them.

Eventually the song stopped and Juno was smiling at Rita. Somehow, the girl had known how to help with the memory. Not that thinking about his brother didn’t hurt, but the fact that he could smile at a memory of him for once was nice.

“Aww, Mistah Steel, won’t you stay for one more song?” Rita whined as Juno started to make his way back to his seat.

“We’ve got a job to do, Rita.” Rita pouted but let Juno go.

Juno was about halfway to his seat when he nearly ran into Peter. Juno was so glad in that moment that he’d decided to wear his boots instead of heels. He was certain that had he been wearing heels, he would’ve toppled on top of Peter and he did not want to be put in that situation.

“Careful now, Detective.” Peter smiled at Juno and Juno knew he was fucked. How could he not be when Peter was in a tight black dress with a slit to the side? The dress was cut so low in the back that were it any lower it would be inappropriate to go outside in it.

“Thank you...” Juno trailed off. He didn’t know what name Peter was going by and he very much doubted that Peter would dare use his actual name with his persona.

“Achilles Knight, but you can call me Achilles.” Peter smiled and reached up to readjust his mask. Unlike Juno and Rita’s, his mask fit to his face well enough but not enough to keep him completely free of worrying about it. Juno couldn’t help but study the mask.

It was a beautiful lace mask. The mask, being a lace face mask, wasn’t nearly as solid as the others he’d seen and it looked more fragile. While Juno’s looked like it would break in half before the end of the night because its owner was Juno, Nureyev’s looked like one of the intricate swirls would snap in half if it was handled too roughly. The mask was delicately designed of swirls and there were red jewels—probably plastic, but Juno wouldn’t put it past Vicky to use real gems—surrounding the eyes and going down the center, ending right before the mask started to curve slightly to fit his nose. The mask had a black strap that went around; that was probably what was keeping it in place. Juno couldn’t stop wondering if Vicky figured out everyone’s outfits before they came or did she just have that wide of a selection made? Either was possible with that woman.

“Thank you, Achilles,” Juno mumbled as he smoothed his dress. A part of him wanted to stay with Peter; the other part of him, a smaller but more vocal part of him reminded him that he was on a job. Hanging with Peter in that goddamn dress would be far too distracting.

“Won’t you dance with me, Detective?” Peter asked and Juno stared at him. _Why hadn’t he asked Peter what the job he was leaving on was going to be?_

He hadn’t asked because the HCPD already hated him and Juno was dating a thief. The less he knew about Peter’s jobs, the less the police had on him and the more Juno could deny without having to lie. Juno knew he couldn’t lie for shit despite the fact that he was a PI but he couldn’t control that. He had rarely gotten caught and put in a position where he was able to lie anyways.

Despite knowing that, he still wished he’d asked. Maybe then he wouldn’t have taken the damn job. No, that’s a lie. Juno was being paid far too well for him to just turn down the job. Even if he had known Peter was planning on stealing something, he was probably going to take the job anyways.

“As flattered as I am by the offer,” Juno said once he’d realized he’d just stood there staring for far too long, “a lady’s gotta rest.”

“How about after, once you’ve rested?” Peter asked and Juno couldn’t figure out if that was a part of Achilles or if Peter just really wanted to dance with Juno; probably both. Peter never passed up a chance to be grossly in love with Juno. If his persona happened to have the same taste as Peter did, then that just worked out in his favor.

“We’ll see.” Juno made his way back to the chair before he unceremoniously dropped onto the thing. Juno hadn’t realized how uncomfortable the chair was until he’d been able to stretch and dance with Rita. Chairs that expensive that were just as uncomfortable as his crappy sofa back home felt like a ripoff. But then again, Juno had never been rich so he supposed he would never understand the way rich people blew their money.

Juno spent an hour doing his job the way it was supposed to before Rita came up to him.

“Boss, hey boss, boss!”

Juno looked up at Rita, it was absolutely impossible to ignore the girl.

“Yes, Rita?”

“Have you met that Achilles yet? He seems like your type and he’s just so _charming_ boss. You should dance with him!” Rita played the part of someone who didn’t know a thing about Peter very well but Juno knew Rita and he knew her memory. She never forgot a face, hell, she pretty much never forgot anything.

“I have met him, yes. He’s got a pretty face, I agree. But Rita we have a job, remember?” Juno felt like a broken record but it was hard not to be when Rita insisted they have fun while he was trying to be the one to watch over everything with only one eye.

“Well, you better dance with him, Mistah Steel! The job isn’t going to go anywhere. Dancing with someone for one or two songs won’t be the end of the world.” Rita paused to look at Juno and when she saw he wasn’t budging she added, “Plus I’m here. I’ll keep an eye on everything!”

“Rita—”

“Now, go and dance with him, boss!” Rita pulled him out of his seat with a strength he didn’t realize she had and pushed him off in the direction of Peter. Juno rolled his eye. He would have to split his attention between Peter’s face,the rest of the crowd, and dancing. As close as he and Rita were, he sure as hell did not trust her to do it on her own.

“Is the lady finally ready for a dance?” Peter asked with a smile once Juno made his way over to him.

“One dance.”

“Of course.” Peter smiled and Juno had a feeling one dance would turn into two or three but he couldn’t control that. Juno stepped on Peter’s feet multiple times during the first dance. Although he apologized every single time—Peter was wearing heels for fucks sake, that was bound to hurt— one dance turned into two and Juno was finally able to dance without stumbling over his or Peter’s feet.

After their third dance, Peter somehow managed to lead them off the dance floor and into a quiet corner. Juno shot a glance in the direction of the valuables; it wasn’t like he was giving anything away. People could tell what was supposed to be guarded. As far as he could tell, nothing had gone missing but he really needed Rita’s memory to double check.

“So...” Juno started as he leaned against the wall. It was probably going to leave some white dust on his back but he’d wipe it off later. “What’re you doing here, Nureyev?” Despite the fact that they’d been dating for a while now, Juno had never managed to kick the habit of calling Peter by his last name. At least, not out loud.

“I got invited.”

Juno quirked an eyebrow up and Peter snorted. “I did!”

“A proper invite? Not a fake one?”

“Yes, Juno. Honestly, who do you think I am?”

Juno said nothing at the comment. Peter ignored the look and lack of a reply and continued. “I was Vicky’s contact a while back. I get the feeling that smart little assistant of yours helped her send the invite.”

“Sometimes I regret introducing you two,” Juno muttered and Peter put a hand to his heart as he gasped.

“You regret me meeting your best friend? You hurt me, Juno.” Peter faked insult in his tone and Juno rolled his eyes. “And besides, my name is Achilles, remember?”

“Yeah, alright, ‘Achilles.’” Juno said with a shake of his head but he was smiling. Despite the memories that had been brought to the surface, dancing with Rita and Peter had been therapeutic. It was nice to associate dancing with happy memories, it was nice to have something else to join the memory of dancing with Benten.  
Juno pushed himself off of the wall, “Alright. Well, have fun. I’m going to sit back down.”

Peter pouted, “We can’t dance again?”

“I am an old man, let me rest.” Juno may or may not have stolen the joke from Rita but he was old and tired and it fit well enough that he was using it anyways.

“Juno, you’re only two years older than me.”

  
“Exactly.”

Peter rolled his eyes but dropped a kiss on Juno’s lips before he was free to go. Juno made it back to his seat and dropped into it. Rita came up to him seconds later and he groaned. Peter was far too much of a distraction as it was. Rita walking over to ask him details about his relationship definitely didn’t help.

“Rita, have you been doing your job?” Juno asked, finally getting a word in before Rita.

“Of course I have, boss! Nothing has been taken yet and I promised I’d keep an eye while you were dancing, right? I totally didn’t forget.”

Juno might have believed her if she hadn’t said ‘totally.’ “Rita...”

“Okay, so I may have forgotten to keep an eye on it at all times but I couldn’t help it! There was a really pretty girl that offered to dance and—”

“Did anything get taken?” Juno asked, he was definitely not in a position to scold Rita for getting distracted by a pretty face. Not that Juno got distracted by just any pretty face, it was only ever Peter fucking Nureyev that was distracting enough that Juno couldn’t focus properly on the job but regardless.

“What, no, but Boss, that girl was so—”

“Alright, Rita, just go dance with her.” Juno was not going to listen to Rita ramble about a girl when she could literally dance with her. As well as the fact that Rita was the type of person who needed you to actually look at her when she was speaking about someone she liked. Juno was not about to be distracted from the job for even longer than he had been before.

Not that Juno’s focus lasted for all that long. Peter kept crossing his line of sight; Juno didn’t even get a full hour before his focus was broken. It wasn’t like he couldn’t keep an eye on Peter, too. The moment Peter crossed his line of sight, it was far too close to everything and Juno _had_ to keep an eye on him. Peter pulling something and then stealing something was far too likely and Juno wasn’t about to make it easy for him.

It certainly doesn’t help that Peter fucking Nureyev is his boyfriend and he knows which tricks work on Juno and which don’t. He can keep an eye on Nureyev and know a trick is coming and he could still fall for the same trick. It was incredibly aggravating but at least he could use it to his own advantage. Making Peter think a trick worked when it did and then still catching Peter was always very satisfying.

The party continued on for a while and the more it continued the more Juno realized that any time he said ‘Juno Steel does not get distracted by a pretty face’ had been a big fat lie. Juno could get distracted by a pretty face far too easily, it just depended on who that pretty face was. Eventually the party wrapped up and Juno hadn’t seen a single person approach the paintings or the busts with necklaces hanging on them. Just because Juno hadn’t seen it, though, didn’t mean nothing had been taken. So Juno got up and approached Vicky. Might as well double check with the person who had literally agreed to pay him and Rita an unreal amount of money to play ‘I Spy’ but with people.

Juno was about twenty steps away from Vicky when she turned to look at him and then turned on her heel to walk over to her wife. Juno shrugged and turned back to the crowd. As long as Vicky was paying him, Juno couldn’t care less. He scanned what was left of the crowd in an attempt to find his loud assistant. His eyes landed on Peter and Rita standing next to each other. Rita was awkwardly leaning on Peter to support him and Juno looked up at the ceiling with a small shake of his head. Rita was drunk. Juno wasn’t even surprised, he wasn’t sure Rita would ever be able to go to a party with him without getting drunk.

With a small sigh Juno shook his head and made his way over to Rita and Peter. He might as well help Nureyev with dealing with a drunk Rita.

“How’s she doing?” Juno asked once he joined the two. He came up on Rita’s right side to help her walk, but her puffy dress definitely didn’t make it easy. Juno nearly tripped over Rita’s dress and it was beyond him how the girl still hadn’t stepped on it herself while she was drunk.

“I mean, she’s drunk but all in all, she’s okay. She’s been rambling about a mix of streams and a pretty girl she was with.”

“Of course she has.” Juno shook his head. “Alright, do you need a ride, Nureyev?”

“Nope, I’m driving the two of you.”

On, another day, Juno would have argued but he was tired and half blind. Driving was not a good idea, especially not when he’d barely driven when he’d had both eyes.

“Alright.” Juno shrugged and led Peter to Rita’s car. “Do you need me to toss you the keys or did you—” Peter jingled the keys and Juno shook his head but he was smiling. “You took the keys already.”

They drove Rita to her place in relative silence. Rita was singing along to some song on the radio but otherwise the car ride to her place was quiet.

“Mistah Steel!” Rita yelled as the car slowly parked in its spot.

“Yes, Rita?” Juno asked. He had a small smile playing on his lips. Rita could be incredibly annoying, but the girl rarely got drunk so the experience was always fun.

“Your boyfriend stole something. I don’t know how he did it, but he did!” Rita lowered her voice as she spoke, trying to whisper but she was still pretty much yelling. “Don’t tell him I told you.”

“Peter?” Juno lifted his eyes from Rita to look at Peter.

“You were more distracted than you thought, detective.” Peter smiled, sharp teeth flashing and Juno looked over Peter trying to figure out what on earth he’d stolen. The chances of it being visible on his person was unlikely but Juno figured he might as well try. 

“What did you steal?”

Peter didn’t answer and Juno groaned. He had to get Rita up to her apartment but then he was figuring out what Peter had stolen. He had to; he’d kept his eye on Peter and the valuables the entire time. How on _mars_ had he managed to steal something?!

A little while later, Juno had managed to get Rita out of the car and into her apartment. How she had managed to even get outside of her house in the dress she was wearing was beyond Juno.

When he and Peter were finally in the confines of Juno’s apartment, Juno finally found out what Peter had taken.

“Nureyev, how on Mars did you manage to steal the centerpiece?” Juno was about to add, ‘Without me noticing’ but Juno had been understandably distracted while on the job.

  
Peter shrugged and Juno had to wrack his brain to try and figure out when Peter had managed to steal the necklace. The problem was that every time he’d checked it, it had been there. Juno would’ve been able to tell the difference between a fake. He couldn’t be a PI if he hadn’t become pretty good at spotting fakes.

“Nureyev—”

“Honestly, Juno, dear, what you don’t know won’t kill you.”

“Yes it will.” Peter raised an eyebrow and made his way into Juno’s bedroom.

“Well, I’ve had a long day so I’m going to sleep. Join me or leave me.”

Juno felt his blood run cold for a moment and had to take a second to calm down. While he knew Peter hadn’t meant to mention the time and the drama that had ensued when they had first met after the fact, it still hadn’t been long enough since then for Juno to feel comfortable with mentions of the time. He didn’t necessarily regret not going with Peter but he did regret not discussing it. Juno shook his head. Peter had made it clear that he had nothing against Juno and he knew Peter wouldn’t try and bring it up but even slight mentions that early on worried him.

Juno glanced at the necklace that sat on his crappy couch where Peter had been sitting. Next to the necklace there were his and Peter’s masks. Juno didn’t remember taking his mask with him but he wouldn’t be surprised if Peter had. Anytime the two of them were on the same job, whether that was on opposite sides or same sides, Peter would take a little souvenir to remember the job by.

Juno kept having to convince Peter to get rid of some souvenirs. Of course, in true Nureyev fashion, Peter could always manage to find a pocket or a drawer to shove something into. Peter never explained how he managed to make his pockets and one of Juno’s drawers bottomless but he’d decided it wasn’t worth asking about. There were more interesting things that he didn’t know about Peter Nureyev.

Juno picked up the three items. He dropped the necklace off on the crappy coffee table in front of the couch. That way he could remember to return it in the morning. One necklace could wait a couple of hours. Juno’s next stop was the counter in the kitchen that housed a small vase with a bouquet of dahlias and roses. Juno set the two masks down next to the vase, only slightly surprised that his mask had managed to survive the night.

With the two most pressing matters dealt with, Juno closed the lights and made his way into his bedroom. He’d left Peter under the covers on his own bed for long enough.  


**Author's Note:**

> The matching art for this fic was done by my wonderful artists Juno and Alec!  
> Juno's art: http://doctorjjules.tumblr.com/post/183038450267/mistah-steel-rita-yelled-as-the-car-slowly  
> Alec's art: https://alec-draws.tumblr.com/post/183005989837/my-piece-for-smiles-and-fandoms-fic-juno-steel
> 
> Yall can find Juno as @chimeramanticore on instagram and Alec as @alec_draws on instagram and alec-draws on tumblr!
> 
> (I swear I had end notes to this but I apparently dont know how ao3 works because it doesn't seem to be there BIG RIP) (if this ends up like weird or like with double end notes or something than double rip lmao.)


End file.
